No Response to Your Simple Procedure Claim in Scotland: What to Do Next

The response deadline on your Form 3D timetable has passed and the respondent hasn't filed Form 4A or Form 5A. Your claim is now undefended. But the court won't automatically give you a decree — you have to apply for one, and there's a strict time limit.

The Two-Week Window for Form 7A

After the Last Date for Response passes with no reply, you have exactly two weeks (14 calendar days) to submit Form 7A — Application for a Decision — through Civil Online.

This is a hard deadline. If you miss the two-week window, the Sheriff is required to dismiss the claim under Rule 13.5 of the Simple Procedure Rules. Your case doesn't just get delayed — it gets thrown out. You'd have to file Form 13B (Application to Recall) to try to get it back, and that's not guaranteed.

The Mandatory Expenses Pro-Forma

Since the Cabot v Walls ruling by the Sheriff Appeal Court on 21 May 2025, every Form 7A submission must include an Expenses Claim Form pro-forma. This applies to all claimants — whether you have a solicitor or not, and whether the claim was defended or undefended.

Without the expenses form attached, the Sheriff Clerk rejects the Form 7A application outright. You don't get a second chance to submit within the same two-week window unless you act quickly.

The pro-forma should itemise your recoverable outlays: the court filing fee (£23 or £127) and service costs (£15 for Sheriff Clerk service, or the Sheriff Officer's fee). The Sheriff Clerk then applies mandatory percentage reductions under the Taxation of Judicial Expenses Rules 2019 — a baseline 10% cut, plus an additional 50% for claims under £1,000, or 25% for claims between £1,001 and £2,500.

What Happens After You Submit Form 7A

The Sheriff reviews your Form 7A along with the expenses form and, assuming everything is in order, grants a decree in your favour. This is Scotland's equivalent of an English default judgment.

The decree states the amount the respondent owes — principal sum, interest, and whatever expenses the Sheriff allows after the statutory reductions.

The Respondent Can Still Come Back

An undefended decree isn't necessarily the end. The respondent can file Form 13B (Application to Recall) asking the Sheriff to set aside the decision. Recall is available only in the specific situations set out in Rule 13.5, including when a decision followed the respondent's failure to respond by the deadline or attend a case management discussion or hearing.

If recall is granted, the case effectively restarts: the respondent files their defence, and the claim proceeds as defended.

Enforcing the Decree

Getting the decree is one thing. Collecting the money is another. If the respondent doesn't pay voluntarily, enforcement options include:

• Earnings arrestment — diverting a portion of their wages
• Bank arrestment — freezing and recovering funds from their bank account
• Attachment — seizing moveable property

All enforcement is carried out by Sheriff Officers, with their own fees. The decree is subject to a 20-year prescriptive period under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, but you must wait 4 weeks from the date Form 13A is sent before starting formal enforcement. A Sheriff Officer must then serve a Charge for Payment; the respondent has 14 days to pay if in the UK, or 28 days if outside the UK or the address is unknown.

Our Scotland Simple Procedure guide includes the full Form 7A process, an expenses calculator aligned to the post-Cabot v Walls rules, and an enforcement roadmap.

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